The still raging wildfires that have decimated the Los Angeles area in the past two weeks have now burned more urban area than any fire in the state over the last 40 years, according to an analysis by the Associated Press .
Both the Eaton and Palisades Fires combined have burned an area of nearly 4 square miles of highly dense parts of Los Angeles, more than double the urban acreage consumed by the region’s Woolsey Fire in 2018, according to the AP’s analysis of data from the Silvis Lab at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Experts tell the AP that several factors could lead to more fires being able to reach heavily urbanized areas as city development continues to expand more and more into wildland.
Climate change is raising global temperatures that lead to more severe weather, including droughts, especially in the western United States…